Written Answers Monday 21 February 2005

Scottish Executive

First Minister

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the First Minister’s official engagements were in the last year; who was present at each engagement; what the (a) date and (b) location was of each engagement, and what issues were discussed.

Ms Margaret Curran: The table (Bib. number 35350) which has been made available in Parliament Reference Centre sets out the First Minister’s official public engagements for 2004. It includes, where readily available, information about people present at each engagement. Information about what issues were discussed at every engagement could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

National Health Service

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the membership and remit will be of the NHS Resource Allocation Committee.

Mr Andy Kerr: In accordance with the procedures outlined in the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice, a chair and members have been appointed to a new committee, the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC). The Chair of NRAC is Professor Karen Facey, a self-employed health policy consultant. Professor Facey is also a non-executive Director of Forth Valley NHS Board.

  The remit of the committee is:

  to improve and refine the Arbuthnott Formula for resource allocation for NHSScotland;

  
keep under review the information available to support existing elements of the formula and consider the inclusion of new data (e.g. ethnicity);
advise on possible formulaic approaches to the parts of health expenditure not currently covered by the formula (e.g. primary care dental, pharmaceutical and ophthalmic services), and
consider in the light of the pilot exercises adjustments to the formula for unmet need.


  Furthermore, the committee will consider any relevant issues which are from time to time referred to it.

  The members of the committee will be:

  
Reverend Alistair Bennett, Minister, Melrose Parish Church and a non-executive Director of Borders NHS Board;
Dr Colin Brown, General Medical Practitioner, Glenburn Health Centre, Paisley;
Richard Copland, Director, Information and Statistics Division, NHS National Services Scotland;
Dr Frances Elliot, Medical Director, Fife NHS Board;
Malcolm Iredale, Director of Finance, Highland NHS Board;
Ms Kirsten Major, Director of Strategic Planning and Performance, Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board;
Alexander (Alex) Smith, Interim Chief Executive, Grampian NHS Board, and
Professor Matthew (Matt) Sutton, Personal Professor/Reader, Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen.


  The committee will also comprise three officials with appropriate policy involvement and skills from the Scottish Executive Health Department.

  Members have been appointed for a fixed term to 31 March 2007. The first meeting of NRAC will take place before the end of this month.

Scottish Law Commission

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals the Scottish Law Commission has for future law reform projects.

Cathy Jamieson: I have recently agreed with the Scottish Law Commission its Seventh Programme of Law Reform. This was presented to Parliament and published today. Copies will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35282). The new programme, which consolidates and supersedes all previous programmes, describes the projects on which the commission will be working between now and the end of 2009.

  The content of the Seventh Programme was finalised following extensive consultation by the commission. As with the previous Sixth Programme, work on property law is a major element where the commission expects to complete within the life of the programme its current work on conversion of long leases to ownership and on land registration. It will also continue its review of trust law. In addition, the commission expects by the end of the programme period to undertake and complete reviews of the law relating to judicial factors, unincorporated associations and the criminal law defences of provocation, self defence, coercion and necessity, and to begin work on the assignation of, and security over, incorporeal moveables. Finally, a major element of the programme will be a review of the law of succession to take account of developments since the commission’s last report on the subject in 1990.

  The Executive welcomes this programme. The fixing of priorities and timetables will help all of those with an interest in law reform to keep track of and prepare for changes in the law that the commission might recommend.

  The Scottish Law Commission has a general remit to keep the law of Scotland under review for the purpose of its reform and consolidation. In addition to the Programmes of Law Reform agreed from time to time with ministers the commission also receives references on specific issues and provides other advice on specific areas of the law.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

St Andrew’s Day

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the estimated cost is to it of granting a St Andrew’s Day holiday to its employees.

Duncan McNeil (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): When setting terms and conditions of service for parliamentary staff in April 2002, the SPCB decided to move one of the existing public holidays from September to the Friday closest to St Andrew’s Day. This was for two reasons: firstly, to avoid any disruption to business so soon after the end of summer recess, and secondly, because the September holiday weekend is a local holiday rather than a national one. There is, therefore, no additional cost to the SPCB for granting a St Andrew’s Day holiday to its employees.